Dissatisfaction with city life: A new look at some old questions

Data from the World Values Survey are used in multilevel statistical models to evaluate received theory about preferences for rural versus big-city living, as evidenced by variations in life satisfaction/happiness/utility and its converse, life dissatisfaction. The models control for individual-level determinants of life satisfaction plus such embedding circumstances as level of development and culture region. For most parts of the world there is no evidence that either rural or big-city living are associated with variations in happiness or unhappiness; personal characteristics and level of development are the key driving forces. The exceptions are in rapidly-urbanizing Asia, where life dissatisfaction is lower in big cities than elsewhere, and in higher income countries, particularly those of Anglo-Saxon heritage, where life dissatisfaction increases with big-city residence and is significantly lower in rural areas. The Asian experience is consistent with the expectations of received urban theory for regions experiencing the upswing of the urban transition and rapid rural-to-urban migration while the higher income Anglo-Saxon experience conforms with expectations about preferences for low-density living close to nature that are traits of that culture.